Chapter One Hundred and Ten: And So It Begins (Patreon)

A sharp beeping woke me up.

Three a.m. I reached for my SURGE pager. Sure enough, there was a message on it:

POSSIBLE ATTACK EXPECTED. LONDON. ETA 2-4 HOURS.

Paul and Anne were in the kitchen. "Looks like it's time," my sister said, holding up her own pager. "I'm warning Phoenix Company."

"I'll call Agni. After that, we head for the garage."

"Coffee first," announced Paul, "and breakfast. I've got sandwiches and apple slices packed and ready."

Agni picked up her phone on the first ring. "Morning."

"Alert came in for London. ETA a couple of hours, possibly."

"Y'all ready?"

"We'll be at the garage in twenty minutes. You can meet us there. Rendezvous is at DURABLE."

"The Phoenix Girls on their way?"

"Anne's waking them up now."

"Fine. I'll be there."

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Half an hour later, the Gladiator pulled up at DURABLE headquarters.

Most of the Phoenixex were already there, chatting with each other and with Doyle's men. I spotted Daisy and made my way over. "Everyone present?"

Daisy craned her head up to look at me. "Everyone present, Belessar."

"Good, I've got more HEPARs in the back. As well as power packs and explosives for everyone."

"Good morning, Belessar," came Doyle's voice. "Do you have a list of what you've got? It would help, tactically speaking."

I mentally cursed myself for not thinking of that. I was too used to relying on Inventory…. "I'll make one and send you."

"Just tell PFC Kim and he'll keep track."

Kim looked less than enthused by the possibility. Resolving to make it up to him later, I scanned the area for other ultras. "Where's the Traveler?"

"The DURABLE team said they'd call him as soon as you got here."

"That means we'll have to wait a bit, I suppose."

"Possibly. I believe your other ultrahuman colleagues are here, too."

Sure enough, I could see the four ultrahumans of Tanisport standing off to the side.

Lumina's expression was neutral as I strode up to them. "Belessar."

"Hi. I just wanted to say, no hard feelings. We should cooperate today."

Lumina inclined her head. "We can be professional about this, sure." Her eyes ran over the assembled group. "It might be best if we worked in different sectors today, though. We wouldn't want to get in the way of your …. team."

"Understood." As much as their suggestion stung, it made sense; we didn't have time to include these four in our tactical plans. At least they were being civil.

For that matter, if Agni needed to reveal herself - which I expected would happen, sooner or later - then it was best that Viking and Quintana were far away when that happened.

Soundwave was staring at my armor. "How much did that cost?" he blurted.

I frowned. "It's not for sale."

“Okay, I get that. I just wanted to know who you bought the components from. The rifle? The power source? I get the armoring material, but what about the gear trains and actuators? Can you at least tell me who you bought those from?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I built my armor personally.”

“.... The whole thing?”

“Yes, the whole thing!”

Soundwave backpedaled rapidly.

…. Okay, so that came out a bit louder than I’d expected.

I strode over to where the others were waiting.

Lieutenant Doyle cocked his head up. “Trouble?”

“Soundwave can be a bit annoying at times.”

“You don’t say. Here I thought all ultras were models of tact and patience.”

I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“You hike up the volume for a reason?”

“The voice modulator is automated - it increases depending on my, um, sense of urgency,” I explained.

“Ah, and educating Soundwave was extra urgent. I understand.”

“Was I really that loud?”

“Not compared to a rocket launch, I suppose.”

“I’ll tone it down….” I resolved to tweak the voice modulator settings at the earliest.

It was less than five minutes before the Traveler arrived. “Driver Forty-Six,” he introduced himself, “here to transport a party led by Belessar and Nanocloud to London, with a weight limit of three hundred and fifty tons.”

Lumina bristled. “Belessar isn’t the leader. We are all independent superheroes from Tanisport.”

“My mistake. Are Belessar and Nanocloud present?”

“Here,” I announced. “We also have thirty-two armored troopers, a support vehicle, and forty-two soldiers from Alpha Platoon, 2nd Rifle Company, along with their support vehicles.” Doyle had brought along a Hummer with one of my modified Mass Driver Rifles mounted on it, and two trucks with the platoon’s gear. “And, of course, myself, Nanocloud, Lady Lumina, Soundwave, Quintana, and Viking as the ultrahumans.”

The Traveler nodded and began marking off a circle around us. Five minutes later, with the distinctive crackle of a portal, we were in London.

A light drizzle was falling as we stepped out of the circle.

<Nanocloud>: why is it always raining in England?

<Belessar>: It’s just how the weather is.

<Nanocloud>: It’s chilly, too. Too chilly for eight-thirty in the morning.

<Belessar>: Wait till the aliens land. Things will heat up then.

“Belessar,” Tucker called. “We’re getting orders from local command. Support bases are set up, and they want us over by the Tower of London.”

“Sure, lead the way. Any updates on the aliens?”

“Nothing yet, but the Brits are setting up a command post near there. Evacuation alarms have been sounded, and civilians are being escorted to shelters.”

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The Tower of London looked like a medieval castle. Fitting, because it used to be one.

Built in 1078 by William the Conqueror, and rebuilt by his descendants up to 1285, the Tower was once the foremost military fortification in London, and the heart of its defences.

Now, a thousand years after its founding, the Tower had been refitted as the command centre for London’s greatest defence.

I could appreciate the symbolism.

Nor were the defences only symbolic. The grounds of the Tower were occupied by two massive artillery pieces, with their long, deadly-looking barrels pointing skyward.

A quick Observe told me a great deal about them:

LANCELOT AIR DEFENCE LASER CANNON

DESIGNED BY THE INVENTOR ASMODRAXUS ALONG WITH A TEAM OF THE BEST STRATOSPHERIC GUARD SCIENTISTS, THIS UNIQUE WEAPON IS INTENDED TO STRIKE DOWN ALIEN SHUTTLECRAFT FROM A DISTANCE. REPRESENTS THE PINNACLE OF HUMAN ENGINEERING.

+500,000 DAMAGE/SHOT.

FIRING RATE: 1 SHOT / 30 SECONDS.

HP: 22,000/22,000

“Those are impressive,” I commented. “Just two of them?”

“Impressive and expensive,” Tucker replied. “I’ve heard that each of them costs as much as an aircraft carrier.”

That explained why there weren’t dozens of these across the city, then. They weren’t alone, though; the walls of the Tower were occupied by fierce-looking British soldiers with heavy machine guns, flak cannons, and rocket launchers. A surface-to-air missile battery sat atop one of the battlements.

<Nanocloud>: Support ultras are assembled in the hall. I’ll join up with them. Stay safe.

<Belessar>: You too.

A thin film of Nanocloud’s fullersteel bots floated out of the canister she was carrying and faded into invisibility.

<Nanocloud>: I’m sending a few of the advanced ones with you. Just in case, you know.

<Belessar>: If I want someone shanked, I’ll let you know.

“Belessar?” a familiar voice reached me.

“Corporal Winford! Good to see you. How’s the arm?”

“Fully normal now, and it’s Sergeant. I’m your local liaison. Everybody, kindly patch into this frequency for instructions.”